This application relates generally to the extraction of hydrogen from cellulosic biomass. More specifically, this application relates to the generation of hydrogen for heat and power generation through the use of cellulosic biomass components including C—O—H compounds. Various components of biomass containing C—O—H compounds include cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose.
There have been several methods of hydrogen extraction from cellulose (C6H10C5). One of the methods is focused on using microbial bugs along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and a catalyst to cause a reaction that releases the hydrogen in cellulose and captures the carbon in cellulose as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). There is still a remaining need for developing a simpler and cost effective way of generating hydrogen gas from all C—O—H compounds found in cellulosic biomass more generally, and in a fashion that allows efficient use of the resulting hydrogen for use on-site, for purification, packaging, and distribution or for power generation from the reaction-product hydrogen gas using a reciprocating engine, turbine, or fuel cell.
While various cellulosic biomass hydrogen extraction techniques exist in the art, there is still a general need for the development of alternative techniques that may be cost effective, energy efficient and useful for applications using hydrogen, including hydrogen on demand, and conversion to a hydrogen-rich gas stream that can be directly combusted to produce power and heat. Heat and power applications from efficiently generated hydrogen rather than fossil fuels are useful for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of other applications that require heat or power, including the production of liquid biofuels. This need may be driven at least in part by the wide variety of applications that make use of hydrogen, some of which have significantly different operation considerations than others. Hydrogen, produced on demand, available for use on the site at which it is generated and therefore that does not require extensive infrastructure for its transportation, and produced at atmospheric pressure and lower temperatures than exist in the prior art, would satisfy that need.